This season in MLS one man stood above the rest, take a bow Caleb Porter.

During his first year in Major League Soccer, the former Akron University coach won the MLS Coach of the Year award as his side went 14-5-15 in the Western Conference and lifted the regular season Conference title.

Porter pipped Mike Petke, a fellow rookie head coach, to the award after both won 30.61 of the club vote. However Porter won the media vote with 58.44 percent and also came top of the tree with the players to make him the clear winner after a stellar campaign in 2013.

Porter, 38, has overseen a tremendous overhaul and rejuvenation as the Portland Timbers went from despair in 2012 to one game shy of making their first ever MLS Cup appearance in 2013. Timbers owner Merritt Paulsson was greeted with a mixed reception last season when he announced Porter would take the reigns for the 2013 campaign, but he performed a masterful transformation in the Rose City as Portland took home the regular season Western Conference title and dazzled with their fluid attacking play.

His task of winning MLS Coach of the Year was made even harder after the likes of the New York Red Bulls’ rookie head coach Petke, Jason Kreis of MLS Cup finalists Real Salt Lake and Colorado Rapids manager Oscar Pareja also orchestrated fabulous upturns for their respective clubs.

But it was Porter who deservedly took home the gong, as the Timbers Army have a leader they worship and Portland have arguably the best young coach in North American soccer leading them into a bright future.

Courtesy of MLSsoccer.com, below is the list of illustrious coaches Porter joins after landing the prestigious accolade.

There really wasn’t another candidate aside from Marcus Schallibaum. When you have virtually the same set of tools at your disposal as the last coach and you go from being near the bottom of the conference to the top in a single year, that is all about coaching. Schallibaum nearly pulled off the same remarkable turn around for the Montreal Impact, save for the fact that he had more talent available to him than the last Impact coach and their end of the year stumble that put them closer to the middle of the conference table. Even as a Seattle Sounders fan, I tip my hat to Caleb Porter, he earned it.